Virtual reality training solutions in Pirelli tyre manufacturing processes : application analysis and future developments

Within increasingly competitive business environments such as manufacturing and production industries, a typical response to gain advantage over competitors is to look to innovation and ways to appropriate value from it; in Pirelli, the company in which this apprenticeship project was developed, it is no different, as enabling technologies of Industry 4.0 are sweeping over the tyre production industry. This paper will offer an overview on how Pirelli has entered the world of Virtual Reality through specifically designed virtual training applications made for operators in the tire assembly phase. After an introduction on the Pirelli working context and on the leading technologies and applications that make up the VR appliance spectrum, the first key topic of this composition will be a description and critical evaluation of the PLAY (Performance and Learning Accelerator for You) project: an externally developed, custom made virtual training solution that has been implemented in three geographically spread production facilities by a VR software provider which will be referred to as PlayerVR. A set of improvement opportunities identified related to the PLAY application, along with a study based on potential complementary technological solutions to VR such as Augmented Reality and 360 Video footage, created the foundations for a new project defined as SOP 4.0. This project featured the creation of a learning object which, contrarily to the PLAY, could feature the innovative technologies mentioned earlier, as well as offer higher user involvement, flexibility and extendibility, by allowing trainers to contribute to the virtual training material on their own (a possibility that was precluded with the PLAY). The next element of our analysis will feature a description of the project management roadmap that was covered regarding the implementation of the SOP 4.0 project, including the selection of a VR technology supplier, which we will refer to as FlexiVR, and the organization of a workshop in one of Pirelli plants to create and assess a pilot solution for further development. The final chapter will include an analytical evaluation under the form of a benchmark between potential further implementations of the PLAY project against potential implementation of the new SOP 4.0 project; this will be done through a development cost and benefits assessment based on a case study related to a low-cost production plant. The bottom line vision behind this elaborate is to identify to what degree the returns related to a Virtual Reality training application justify the heavy investments made to develop it as well as what variables must be taken into consideration for this business case; subsequently, the scope of analysis will then shift to understand if a project such as the SOP 4.0 that features bottom-up user contribution is feasible (making operator involvement and extension to other production factories the most critical point), or if the necessary expertise is still in the hands of VR software providers, so a fully outsourced project such as the PLAY is still more advantageous.

In contesti di business incrementalmente competitivi come nell’industria di produzione di serie, una risposta tipica per ottenere un vantaggio competitivo è quella di volgere lo sguardo verso soluzioni innovative e a modalità con cui estrapolarne il valore. Il contesto lavorativo in cui opera Pirelli ne è la prova, considerato l’avvento imminente delle tecnologie e delle applicazioni relative all’industria 4.0. Questo elaborato offre un overview di come Pirelli si è avvicinata al mondo della Realtà Virtuale con lo scopo di creare modalità di apprendimento interattivo per gli operatori inerenti alla linea di assemblaggio degli pneumatici. Dopo una breve introduzione sulla cultura lavorativa di Pirelli, il paper continua con una descrizione ed analisi critica della prima applicazione di Virtual Reality denominata PLAY sviluppata in Pirelli da un fornitore di applicazioni di training innovative. Individuate una serie di opportunità di miglioramento del PLAY, l’elaborato continuerà con una descrizione di un progetto denominato SOP 4.0 messo in atto per esplorare soluzioni più flessibili che riuscissero a garantire un maggiore coinvolgimento degli operatori nell’inserimento di contenuti in realta virtuale e nell’estensione dell’applicazione ad altri processi produttivi all’interno della fabbrica. Dopo una descrizione delle attività di project management relativa alla selezione ed alla validazione di un fornitore alternativo adeguato, l’elaborato si concluderà poi con uno studio di fattibilità per eventuali applicazioni future con lo scopo verificare innanzitutto se i ritorni potenziali possano giustificare gli investimenti per lo sviluppo di applicazioni in Virtual Reality e successivamente di verificare la validità di soluzioni alternative che permettano un maggiore coinvolgimento di operatori e trainer, validando di fatto i presupposti del progetto SOP 4.0.